Inga Holl Musselman

Associate Professor

Department of Chemistry
University of Texas at Dallas
P. O. Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688

Phone: (972) 883-2706
Fax: (972) 883-2925
E-mail: imusselm@utdallas.edu

Education and Postdoctoral Experience

B.A., Chemistry, Gettysburg College, 1982
Ph.D., Analytical Chemistry, University of North Carolina, 1988
Research Chemist, Gas and Particulate Science Division, Center for Analytical Chemistry, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 1983-1988
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Precision Engineering Center, North Carolina State University, 1988-1991
Visiting Lecturer, Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, 1991-1992

Fields of Research Specialization

Surface and Microbeam Analysis
Laser Microprobe Mass Spectrometry
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM): Tip Fabrication, Image Contrast Mechanisms, Limits of Image Contrast Resolution, Application to Polymer Surface Microstructure

Fields of Teaching Specialization

Surface and Microbeam Analysis
Analytical Chemistry
General Chemistry

Industrial and Government Interactions

1988-1991 Collaborated with Hoechst Celanese Research Division, Summit, NJ to address the role of scanning probe microscopy for polymer surface characterization. Explored ultrastructures of liquid crystalline polymers (LCP) and extended the LCP structure model.
1982-1988 Conducted Ph.D. research in the Microanalysis Group, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD. Addressed molecular and quantitative aspects of laser microprobe mass spectrometry for inorganic particle analysis.

Patents

"Scanning Tunneling Microscope Tips", U.S. Patent 5,164,595, awarded November 17, 1992; assigned to North Carolina State University.
"Method of Fabricating Scanning Tunneling Microscope Tips", U. S. Patent 5,085,746, awarded February 4, 1992; assigned to North Carolina State University.

Research Goals and Description of Research Interests

My research objectives address two aspects of scanning probe microscopy (SPM). The first objective concerns the investigation of image contrast mechanisms, limits of image contrast resolution, and causes of molecular alignment on surfaces. Initial image contrast studies are directed at determining the extent to which similar atoms may be differentiated by contrast in STM and AFM images. The second objective concerns the application of SPM to the study of polymer surface microstructure. Microstructural analyses by SPM are being conducted for polypeptide molecules, for Langmuir-Blodgett polypeptide thin films which may prove to be an effective medium for advances in (opto-) electronic devices, for conducting polymer membranes for the separation of gases important to coal and energy technology, and for paired helical filaments which constitute the neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques of Alzheimer diseased brains.

Representative Papers

I.H. Musselman and P.E. Russell, "Platinum / Iridium Tips with Controlled Geometry for Scanning Tunneling Microscopy", J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A, 8(4), 3558 (1990).
I.H. Musselman, L. C. Sawyer, R. T. Chen, M. G. Jamieson, and P. E. Russell, "The Fibrillar Hierarchy in Liquid Crystalline Polymers", J. Mat. Sci., 28(1), 225 (1993).
I.H. Musselman, K. H. Gray, R. M. Leasure, T. J. Meyer, and R. W. Linton, "Scanning Probe Microscopy and Sputter Depth Profiling of Conductive Polymer Thin Films", Microbeam Analysis, 2, 297 (1993).
I.H. Musselman, D. L. Smith, E. P. Enriquez, V. F. Guarisco, and E. T. Samulski, "Effects of Substrate on Ultra-Thin Films of Poly(g-Benzyl-L- Glutamate) by Scanning Probe Microscopy", J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A, 12(4),

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Last modified 10 April 1998